Pittsburgh Penguins Weekly Roundup: 5 Points on the Pens

Sep 22, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) skates during the pre-game before playing the Detroit Red Wings at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

1. Patric Hornqvist is a monster. Literally.

Okay, not literally.

But Hornqvist has been an absolute beast for the Penguins through their first 4 games, putting up 4 goals and 4 assists. Most notably, the Swede has posted a league-leading 28 shots.

There are plenty of players around the NHL who can pile up points for a week or two before fizzling out and fading back into the background, but as long as he’s firing everything that comes into his general vicinity in the direction of the net, Hornqvist figures to keep on producing.

With 28 shots in 4 games, Hornqvist is shooting at a pace of 7 shots per game. Projected over a full 82 games, that amounts to 574 shots. Is he going to reach that absurdly high total? No. But if he can come anywhere close, he’s going to change the culture of this team.

The Pens’ leading shooter last season was captain Sidney Crosby with 259. The league leader was Alexander Ovechkin with 386. As long as he keeps doing what he’s doing, Hornqvist looks ready to top both those totals, and to take Pittsburgh on his back while he does.

With all due respect to former Pens sniper James Neal, Patric Hornqvist is the real deal.